Combined cigarette package and ash tray



Nov. 26,1963 H. w. DAVEY COMBINED CIGARETTE PACKAGE AND A SH TRAY Filed May 8, 1962 H3251. WDA vs-y,

INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,112,029 COMBINED CIGARETTE PACKAGE AND ASH TRAY Hazel W. Davey, 4810 Topeka Drive, Box 367, Tarzana, Calif. Filed May 8, 1962, set. No. 193,175 1 Claim. (Cl. 206-41) This invention relates in general to the packaging of cigarettes and it has particular relation to a composite package having a waste container for receiving cigarette butts and ashes, in connection with a cigarette container.

It is common knowledge that waste containers are always in insufficient supply and most often are not where they are needed. This situation applies particularly to cigarette smokers either in public places or in homes. Smokers therefore have received the reputation of being litterers of public places and also are often embarrassed after lighting up by the sudden realization that there is no ash container available other than the floor. Men often use pants cuffs for this purpose.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a deluxe package wherein a combination of a filled container for the cigaretes and empty chamber for receipt of ashes is combined as a unit in order to have available a waste ash receptacle at any time the smoker selects a cigarette from the package.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a convenient and readily available support means as a tray holder for a lighted cigarette.

It is a further and important object of the invention to provide a tray holder for lighted cigarettes in association with the waste container in a manner which will permit ashes falling from a cigarette at rest in the tray holder to fall directly into the waste container.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, a preferred form of the present invention is disclosed in the accompanying drawings wherein:

'FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a combination cigarette and ash waste container with a flip top on the cigarette container, as illustrated in phantom outline, openable to an access position:

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, from another angle of the package, showing a side opening into the ash container and a swingable spout closure construction in the opening; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail of the ash waste container portion of the combination package showing the spout in open position and details of the construction thereof.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a rectangular hollow cigarette container 10 adapted to hold a group of cigarettes which are not illustrated in the drawing. The container 10- is substantially of the same dimension as standard packages which are widely used for holding cigarettes. Thus, the container has four side walls, a wall 11 and a wall 12 being relatively narrow side walls with a front wall 13 and a back wall 14 being comparatively wide. A top wall 15 and a bottom Wall 16 complete the six sides of the container.

The container 10 differs from standard construction, however, in that the top wall 15 is designed to hold a lighted cigarette as a support or tray device. The preferred embodiment has a trough configuration extending laterally across the container from the side wall 11 to the side wall 12. This particular embodiment employs a trough configuration defined by two fiat wall segments 17 and 18 with a meridian area 19 extending along a line of the intersection of a central axis plane of the container 10 with the top wall.

In the manner now quite common to hard box type containers the top wall 15 and portions of the side Wall are 3,1 12,029 Patented Nov. 26, 1963 hinged in a manner to provide an openable cap cover, and the cover is shown in the open position in dotted phantom outline in FIG. 1.

A waste container forms an extension of the cigarette container. The waste container is indicated by the reference character 25. Container 25 is empty when the package is provided -with cigarettes in the container 10. This container 25 is considerably smaller than the container 10, because even if all of the material contained in the container 10 is deposited, after burning, into the container 25, the volume nevertheless is considerably less than the original volume. The waste container is outlined by four side walls 26, 27, 28, land 29, and by the bottom wall 30 and the top wall 31. In the illustrated embodiment, the wall 12 and 26 'are a common Wall. A completely separate structure is sometimes used as an attachment. Top wall 31, in the same manner as the top wall 15 of the cigarette container, is of trough configuration defined by two segments 32 and 33 which meet at a meridian area 34. The central meridian area 34 is a continuation of the meridian area 19 when the top of the cigarette container is closed. Therefore, the composite trough is one continuous trough from the side wall 10 of the cigarette container to the side wall 28 of the waste container. Thus, by using the top of both the cigarette container and the small waste container, there is provided a resting place long enough for full support of a new cigarette. A shorter trough may be used for shorter length cigarettes.

In the enlarged detail view of FIG. 3, the preferred embodiment is illustrated as a container having a side opening 46 with a swingable spout 41 mounted in the opening 40. The spout 41 is a conventional type spout of one piece construction bent to form a front wall 42 and two side Walls 43 and 44. A hinge edge 45 is mounted on a wire 46 embedded in the side wall 28 for the purpose of supporting the spout. The spout 41 is located directly below the meridian area of the trough top when the package is in an upright position. The hinge edge 45 is located below the edge of the opening and hence the spout abuts the container wall as a limiting stop. A top lip provides a stop for the closed position. If a cigarette is placed in the trough and forgotten, the ashes will drop off the cigarette into the trough 41 rather than onto the floor. If allowed to fill the trough they may be scraped or poured to the edge to fall into the trough. P-rior devices have provided containers of various types with rest notches and other similar devices, but the positioning of the rest device was such that a forgotten cigarette would burn and fall on the floor rather than into the container. The arrangement of this invention, it will thus be seen, is of considerable importance.

This invention provides a waste container that does not require removal of cigarettes from the cigarette container as a prerequisite to use. A two part structure is provided. Hence a new package can be used as a waste receptical. Capacity is not related to the amount removed from the cigarette container.

This invention may be enhanced by the use of material which is not flammable for coating the surface of the trough and for lining the interior of the Waste container 25. The non-flammable material does not need to be thick, because the amount of heat generally available in waste material is not great and the oxygen content of the container 25 is quickly consumed to snuff out any flame or smoking ember. Hence, the container is not called upon to contain matter burning intensely.

The invention may therefore be seen to embody a combination cigarette container and waste container with support surface means to hold a lighted cigarette in such a position that any ash falling from the cigarette held by the support means will fall into the waste container rather than upon the surrounding area.

Operation The cigarette container 10 and the waste container 25 are joined either by the manufacturer or by the user into a unitary structure. The waste container 25 is then available to receive ashes and other waste debris whether or not the cigarette container has been opened. In other words a smoker may offer the tray for use by others or as he finishes a previous package of cigarettes.

The assembly of the two containers is seated upright and the spout 41 opened as indicated by the FIGURE 2. The smoker then may place a lighted cigarette in the trough and it will lie along the meridian area 19. The burning end should be allowed to project beyond the wall 29 and the spout should be opened to catch falling ashes.

Should the cigarette be permitted to burn back along its length, the package can be tilted to empty the ash into the spout 41 or scraped to the spout by the finger.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is conceived to be the most practical and prefer-red embodiments, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be afforded the full scope of the claim.

What is claimed is:

In combination, a rectangular hollow cigarette cntainer holding a group of cigarettes;

said cigarette container having two opposed narrow side walls and opposed wider front and back walls, a top and a bottom wall;

a vertical plane bisecting said container along the central axis of said top and bottom wall; said top wall having a trough configuration extending along said plane across said top to a side wall;

a rectangular hollow waste compartment;

said waste compartment having four sidewalls, a top and a bottom wall of non-flammable material;

said vertical plane of the cigarette container also bisecting said waste compartment along the central axis of said top and bottom Wall of the waste compartment;

said top wall of the waste container having a trough configuration extending across said top wall from one side wall to the other, said waste compartment aligned as a continuation of said cigarette container with the top wall trough aligned with said trough of the cigarette container and forming a continuation thereof;

said waste compartment having an opening in the side wall thereof adjacent said trough in the top and located opposite the cigarette container; a spout mounted in said opening and adapted to swing outwardly and open in the direction of said top; said spout located along said central plane of the container and compartment;

whereby ashes falling from the trough when the container combination is sitting upright will fall into said upwardly open spout.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,362,820 Rinker Dec. 21, 1920 1,632,335 Hiering June 14, 1927 1,651,177 Bowyer Nov. 29, 1927 1,764,673 Babson June 17, 1930 2,582,598 McGuire Jan. '15, 1952 2,849,154 Gartrell et al. Aug. 26, 1958 2,958,417 Adams Nov. 1, 1960 2,990,055 Hughes June 27, 1961 

